Longview recently filed a complaint with the US Federal Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting that Allegheny grant them access. According to Reuters, Longview has been trying to reach an agreement with Allegheny since 2003 regarding which route the power line should take.

Efforts, however, have been “severely hampered by Allegheny’s intransigence and blatant violations” of rules defined by the commission and PJM Interconnection, the independent grid operating group Allegheny belongs to.

Longview said that Allegheny rejected the initial proposed route and conditionally agreed to the second offer if Longview paid at least $US5.5 million in compensation for lost capability, as the line would impede on portions of a proposed landfill Allegheny was planning for the future.

However, Longview highlighted within its complaint that FERC and PJM rules require transmission providers like Allegheny to “grant access at no cost to a generator for the construction, operations, and maintenance of interconnection facilities”. Additionally, it alleged that Allegheny is trying to encumber the project because it views the proposed 600MW facility as a threat.

“Allegheny’s intransigence, if not hostility, to both the commission’s and PJM’s interconnection requirements, which appear to be driven by its desire to protect its own governing facilities, has severely hampered Longviews’ interconnection efforts,” said Longview.

The planned project site is located near Allegheny’s Fort Martin Plant in Monongalia County, West Virginia.